Sunday, May 27, 2007

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Captain Mark Towner

Updated 9 Point Plan on How to Win Over Iraq and the War on Terror


Originally Posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2006

How to Win Over Iraq and the War on Terror

By Mark E. Towner, Salt Lake City UtahTo show the people of Iraq that the United States wants their country to be free from terrorists and allow them to pursue peace, happiness, and prosperity the United States should propose to the people of Iraq the following.
(1) The United States will agree to deploy US forces to Iraq totaling (500,000) from January 1, 2008 to January 1, 2010.
(2) The President will then ask all healthy former servicemen and women up to age 65 including all former Vietnam veterans, reserve, and current military to re-up for a six month to a one year rotation in Iraq.
(3) The President would call upon young Americans to volunteer a 1-2 year service mission to assist the rebuilding of the infrastructure of Iraq.
(4) The United States Military will totally seal off the boarders of Iraq, not allowing any entry into Iraq. All supplies into Iraq will be brought in by US convoy.
(5) The reserve and older ex military personal would secure the Iraq boarders using the latest technology available and guard and protect the oil fields and pipelines. This experience will also help us to perfect how to secure our own boarders here in the United States.
(6) I would expect over 1 million signups of former military alone. I would expect 1-2 million US volunteer’s to assist in rebuilding Iraq if they can be assured of security in the nation.
(7) The active Military would completely seal Baghdad and other hot zones in Iraq. They would also surround small remote towns and order its evacuation, giving the residents 48 hours to leave. Then the military would do a clean sweep of any terrorists. Once the town was secure, the US volunteer’s would move into the town and rebuild the homes, infrastructure, electricity, phone service, internet etc. and just like on the TV show, these efforts would be documented and reported 24 hours a day worldwide.
(8) When completed, the residents would be allowed to return to their homes where they would have clean water, sewer, electricity, etc. After this procedure has been repeated over and over, the minds and hearts of the people will be changed. The people will turn against the terrorists and they themselves will police their own neighborhoods and once again take pride in their community and country.
(9) In December 2010, all the troops including all the Old Vietnam Veterans, the Volunteer’s, everyone can come home to the arms of a grateful nation, and the people of the world will again respect and thank America.
Mark E. Towner
The Political Spyglass
801.502.9134

Where is the Spine in Congress?


Originally Posted Friday, December 15, 2006

Those Who Do Not Learn From The Mistakes of History...?

The Left has been trying for some time now to morph the War on Terror into another Vietnam.
Vietnam, My Lai, pullout, deadline, cutoff -- all the old remembrances are returning, as the graying antiwar generation of the 1960s will not go quietly into the night.
Abu Ghraib and Haditha are the new Tiger Cages and napalm; George Bush is the Johnson or Nixon of our age; and 'no blood for oil' is similar to the old mythical conspiracies of why we were in Vietnam."And the report gives the Left just what it wants -- surrender; albeit with high-minded words and a pretty package.
And what will happen if we follow the report's recommendations and leave before the job is done... before the Iraqis are able to handle this situation themselves... before we have reasonable assurances that Americans will be safe from future terrorist attacks?Hanson has a few words on that as well:
Once we leave, the killing starts in earnest, not 20 or 30 per day, but wholesale slaughter of any Iraqis who taught school, or were clean shaven and wore Western dress, or fought to save Iraq. Millions of refugees flee to the West. Those who stay are killed or 'reeducated.' Islamism, like Communism, is empowered with the American defeat... Americans abroad will be ripe targets, since, like the Iranian hostage taking of 1979, there will be an unspoken assurance that the United States would not dare risk another Iraq/Vietnam.

Remember what happened when we let politicians run the war in Vietnam from thousands of miles away and pulled out before the South Vietnamese were ready to defend themselves?Mass murderer Ho Chi Minh executed and imprisoned numberless Vietnamese. Millions died. Hundreds of thousands fled the country, including the desperate boat people, many of whom drowned or died of exposure.

With American troops gone, the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot, a communist terrorist, took control of Cambodia; and during his reign of terror, 2 million Cambodians died of starvation, torture or execution -- approximately 30% of the Cambodian population.It can happen again! If we accept the recommendations of this report and cut and run, radical Islam will win and it WILL happen again!But it could be much worse this time!

Osama bin Laden, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syria's leader Bashar Assad, the suicide bombers who kill in the name of Allah -- will see our withdrawal as the final defeat of America ("the Great Satan").

America will be humiliated by a bunch of third-world thugs -- drunk on ideology -- who will win because they believed while Americans doubted.

And we will see brutality that will shock the world as America's enemies realize they can strike at us at home and abroad with impunity because our political leaders lack the will to do what must be done!

That's why patriotic Americans MUST take action NOW!

Senators Hatch and Bennett, PLEASE DO SOMETHING!


Originally Posted by on January 16, 2004

Again on Tuesday, January 31, 2006

A Foreign Legion to Protect Our Borders?
Identification — I have been pondering recently about the Immigration proposal presented by President Bush, and how this does little to protect our southern boarders. Additionally we need the creation of a National ID / Work Card / Drivers License for all non US citizens. This would eliminate the practice of illegal aliens getting Driver’s Licenses in Utah, then moving to another state and getting a drivers License there using the Utah License as ID. Any non US citizen when pulled over for a traffic citation would present their ID card and this would alert the police that this person is not a US citizen, and they should do a little more checking before just writing a citation and letting them go.

As for driving, when they can demonstrate in the state of their jurisdiction the ability to pass both a written and practical test, their ID cards would be embossed with driving privileges from that state. This must be accomplished in 90 days upon arrival to the US. This would allow tourists visiting the US to be able to rent cars while here in the US without this restriction. (Since my original post in 2004, some of these ideas have been implemented)

Border Security — I would propose the creation of a "USA Foreign Legion" run and administered by the US Marine Corps. This force would recruit foreign nationals to enlist for 4 years. After successfully completing the normal Marine Corps Training program (failure of this training program would return them to the country of origin) they would be trained for a new Horse Calvary unit that would be stationed all along the southern border.

Although fully armed for any situation, these forces would be specially trained to intercept, and control border incursions using high tech non lethal measures. Those illegal aliens intercepted would be photographed and fingerprinted, then after processing they would be immediately flown by Chinook helicopter back over the border to a deportation base in Mexico.

Utilizing the old US Army training manuals for the upkeep of the animals, feeding, grooming, etc will keep these troops fairly busy.

After successfully serving a 4 year stint in the legion, they would be given fast track status for US citizenship.

They could choose to re-enlist into the regular Army, or continue with this force.

This force also could be deployed anywhere in the world for peacekeeping proposes, reserving our shock fighting forces for quick deployment.

Coordinated ops with military helicopter units along the boarder directing the cavalry forces to the locations of incursion, these forces by utilizing infrared and other Military technology would finally secure our southern boarder.

The benefits to the US would be a bilingual force that is familiar with the region, creates an avenue to US citizenship, and they are trained soldiers who are proud to be part of the US military. Upon honorary discharge they could enter the US civilian status with the education and tools to be successful in life.

How to Secure Air Travel — To travel by air in the United States, you should have a passport.

The new generation passports should have RF ID chips and holographic pictures that can be read automatically when you go through security.

Arm the pilots, X-ray all cargo and baggage and create special transponder beacon codes that airline flights are assigned that they must squawk at a designated time during the trip.

Originally Posted by on January 16, 2004 03:37 AM

McCain-Kennedy bill comes up short

McCain-Kennedy bill comes up short
By Deroy MurdockScripps Howard News Service

NEW YORK — To judge how important assimilation is to Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., peruse their immigration bill, now before the Senate. "Assimilation" appears only once in this legislation, and not until the 343rd of 347 pages. "Americanization" never emerges.

Too bad the most sweeping immigration measure since 1986 shortchanges assimilation. Whether America ultimately absorbs 12,000 or all 12 million illegal aliens estimated to live here, it will be better for them and this nation if they speak, study and vote in English, understand America's Constitution and political culture, respect our history and civic traditions, and honor our flag and national heroes. Otherwise, bedlam awaits.

McCain-Kennedy does little to forestall such cultural disarray, and it probably exacerbates it. Unfortunately, as Hudson Institute senior fellow John Fonte told the House Immigration subcommittee May 16, "There are no serious assimilation components to the legislation." Dual citizenship, naturalized Americans voting here and overseas, non-English classrooms and multilingual ballots all thrive, despite McCain-Kennedy's "comprehensive" scope.

"Under this bill, every immigrant and every American citizen is his own little bubble of linguistic entitlement," says Jim Boulet Jr., executive director of English First. This is so, thanks to President Bill Clinton's Executive Order 13166. As Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., told the Senate Tuesday, this is "an entitlement for a translator in any language you want other than English ... if you are a recipient of federal funds."

Under EO 13166, for instance, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development on Jan. 22 mandated language outreach by subsidized-housing providers. HUD, for instance, recognized one housing sponsor for hiring "translators fluent in Hindi, Urdu, Dari, Vietnamese and Chinese to translate written materials and advertising for the local press in those languages."

HUD's regulations state: "No matter how few LEP (limited-English-proficient) persons the recipient is serving, oral interpretation services should be made available in some form." McCain-Kennedy would codify EO 13166, so only Congress could repeal it.

Until then, President Bush unilaterally could cancel Clinton's executive order. This, too, he has failed to do.

Illegals also could gain amnesty without English proficiency. Up to four years after receiving brand-new, permanently renewable Z (amnesty) visas, they merely must "demonstrate an attempt to gain an understanding of the English language." This is like saying that thinking about maybe asking someone out means you are dating. Z-visa holders can "demonstrate an attempt" through "placement on a waiting list for English classes." For McCain-Kennedy, waiting equals speaking.

Also under this legislation, the Homeland Security secretary would disseminate amnesty information to illegals "in no fewer than the top five principal languages ... spoken by aliens who would qualify for classification under this section, including to television, radio and print media. ..." McCain-Kennedy's English and assimilation shortcomings should aggravate cultural conservatives and annoy almost everyone else.

Fiscal conservatives should faint at Heritage Foundation scholar Robert Rector's estimate that this bill creates "a net cost to taxpayers of $2.3 trillion in retirement-related benefits" for amnestied illegal aliens. One fresh entitlement: Free immigration attorneys for illegal-alien farmworkers. Cops and counterterrorists should worry that McCain-Kennedy requires that eligible illegal aliens receive probationary Z visas by the "end of the next business day." Within that deadline, law-enforcement and national-security officials simply cannot isolate innocent aliens from those who aspire to rob, rape or plant bombs. Alas, there is no single, searchable, international-scoundrels database. "A one-business-day time limit is madness, particularly if 48,000 aliens applied in a single day," warns Kris Kobach, counsel under former Attorney General John Ashcroft. "Would 48,000 daily applications be unusual? Try dividing 12 million illegal aliens by 250 business days, if they all applied the first year."

Americans who want secure borders wonder why the 700-mile southern-frontier-fence Congress authorized last year stretches only 370 miles under McCain-Kennedy. And liberals fret that this bill's guest-worker program would depress the wages of low-skilled American citizens. This is a serious, albeit debatable, accusation.

By pushing this bill, McCain is alienating GOP primary voters. Come 2008, he may become one lonely maverick. Meanwhile, by embracing this legislation, Bush is smashing his loyal Republican base to smithereens. McCain-Kennedy is as wildly popular as algebra homework on prom night. Congress should dropkick it into the Rio Grande.

Deroy Murdock is a columnist with Scripps Howard News Service and a senior fellow with the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in Fairfax, Va. E-mail him at deroy.murdock@gmail.com.

Mitt Romney's skeletons in the closet


Mitt Romney's skeletons in the closet
By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist May 27, 2007
BLAME IT on his cheatin' heart. It's divorce: Mitt Romney v. the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The former Massachusetts governor paints a picture of irreconcilable differences, but that's not the whole story.

Some guys break up via e-mail. Romney chose a television ad as the way to cut ties with the state he two-timed with a hotter date -- a White House run.

The ad's narrator darkly observes: "In the most liberal state in the country, one Republican stood up and cut spending, instead of raising taxes. He enforced immigration laws, stood up for traditional marriage and the sanctity of life." The candidate says: "This isn't the time for us to shrink from conservative principles."

No matter what the ad states, Romney has a problem. There was a time when he did shrink from conservative principles -- it was when he was running for governor of Massachusetts. Once he started two-timing Massachusetts and running for president, he talked the conservative talk. But, back home, he didn't always walk the conservative walk.

For example, he went from protector of Roe v. Wade as a gubernatorial candidate to abortion opponent on the presidential campaign trail .

And, instead of raising taxes, Romney raised $700 million by increasing fees and closing corporate loopholes -- a practice corporations consider a tax increase.

When it comes to another claim in the ad -- enforcing immigration laws -- the Globe last year reported that the Massachusetts State Police relied on a company to clean its barracks and headquarters that employed scores of undocumented immigrants. During the Romney years, additional state contracts were going out to other companies employing illegal immigrants. Besides, Romney never questioned the citizenship of landscapers who tended his own front lawn. Instead, he yelled out a friendly "buenos dias" to crews that included illegal immigrants.
In the campaign ad, Romney flashes photos of Senator John F. Kerry and former governor Michael S. Dukakis, superimposed over a headline that mentions "Ted Kennedy"-- all reminders of the liberals who conservatives love to hate. Yet a year ago, Romney posed with Kennedy and a panoply of Democratic politicians in historic Faneuil Hall to celebrate a new law that not only guarantees healthcare for the uninsured -- it mandates it; imposes penalties on individuals who refuse to comply; and requires the state and business to pay for a portion of the coverage. That's conservative?

The good news for Romney?
The test for his presidential quest isn't going to be whether he is conservative enough.

The bad news?
The test is whether he is trustworthy enough. How much trust can Republican primary voters reasonably invest in a politician who changed so many positions? How good is Romney's word today?

During the GOP primary season, liberals like Kennedy are naturally cast as demons. If Romney becomes his party's nominee, how long before that picture of Romney and Kennedy in Faneuil Hall becomes a centerpiece of his campaign? What if he goes back to being the fiscally conservative social moderate many Massachusetts voters believed they were electing?
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senator John McCain of Arizona, and Romney all face challenges when it comes to pleasing their party's conservative base. Some quality beyond sheer ideology is going to tip the balance in one candidate's favor.

Romney has money, organization, a strong resume, and presidential looks. But he also has Massachusetts. He can run against its liberal politics, but he can't run against its memory. Voters here remember what he said to win and what he did once elected.

The Romney team probably believes there is nothing to lose by running against the Bay State; the former governor can't win the state in a general election. If their conclusion is accurate, it isn't strictly because Romney is Republican. Ronald Reagan won Massachusetts when he ran for president. The threat Massachusetts poses to Romney is not the loss of its 12 electoral college votes on ideological grounds. It's the Bay State's ability to challenge Romney where it really hurts, on matters of truthfulness and character. To this day, it's hard to tell what he really believes on abortion or immigration or healthcare.

Massachusetts was Romney's springboard. It could also be his trip wire. Friendly divorces are rare indeed.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

McCain: Current Iraq Plan Is Best Option


McCain: Current Iraq Plan Is Best Option
By MIKE BAKER

The Associated PressSaturday, May 26, 2007; 8:30 PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain, comparing the U.S. effort in Iraq to military campaigns like the Normandy invasion, said Saturday the current plan is the only decent option.


The Arizona senator has criticized Democrats for failing to consider "Plan B" _ or the consequences of withdrawing troops.

McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press that he is only focused on figuring out how to make the current military plan work. A new course, he said, won't be considered until the end of the year.


"I believe that General (Dwight) Eisenhower didn't have a Plan B at Normandy, and I don't think that General (Ulysses S.) Grant had a plan B when he decided to take Richmond," said McCain, referring to turning-point battles in World War II and the Civil War. "I know of a number of other options _ the problem is, none of them are any good."

Headlines From Rick Koeber's Free Capitalist

Rick Koeber's Free Capitalist Headlines








Holiday Travelers Ignoring Fuel Costs
From USA Today
Soaring gas prices did not appear to be deterring Americans from hitting the road and airports this Memorial Day weekend for what many expect will be record holiday travel. One in eight Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home this weekend, the Travel Industry Association and AAA said. Principle 7

Slow Down and Absorb
From OpinionJournal
Open borders? Mass deportations? How about some common sense instead? Principle 4

Senate Pushes Utilities on 'Green' Sources
From Wall Street Journal
A bill about to be introduced in the Senate would push utilities to generate drastically more of their power -- 15%, compared with the current 2% -- from sources such as wind or the sun by 2020. While three similar measures have died after passing the Senate, this one has powerful bipartisan support. Principle 11

Abortion bill Becomes Law in Oklahoma
From Reuters
A bill prohibiting public funds from being used for most abortions has become law in Oklahoma after a deadline passed for the state's governor to veto the measure. Principle 5

EU Probes Google Grip on Data
From Financial Times
European data protection officials have raised concerns that Google could be contravening European privacy laws by keeping data on internet searches for too long. Principle 3

Congress Approves Minimum-Wage Increase
From ABC News
America's lowest-paid workers won a $2.10 raise Thursday, with Congress approving the first increase in the federal minimum wage in almost a decade. Principle 6

Clinton, Obama Vote 'No' on Iraq Bill
From Yahoo! News
Their votes Thursday night continued a shift in position for the two presidential hopefuls, both of whom began the year shunning a deadline for a troop withdrawal. Principle 3

Sane Mental Health Laws?
From The Weekly Standard
Don't hold your breath. Federal "advocates" are standing in the way of reform. Principle 4

E-mail Reply to All: ‘Leave Me Alone!’
From MSNBC
Last month, venture capitalist Fred Wilson drew a lot of attention on the Internet when he declared a 21st century kind of bankruptcy. In a posting on his blog about technology, Wilson announced he was giving up on responding to all the e-mail piled up in his inbox. Principle 4

U.S. Spends Average of $8,701 Per Pupil
From CNN
The United States spent an average of $8,701 per pupil to educate its children in 2005, the Census Bureau said Thursday, with some states paying more than twice as much per student as others. Principle 10

Friday, May 25, 2007

It’s A Bong! John McCain’s Man Helps Out Barack Obama


It’s A Bong! John McCain’s Man Helps Out Barack Obama

May 25th

THE US Presidential race is getting intesting.

Barack Obama says:

"This country is united in our support for our troops, but we also owe them a plan to relieve them of the burden of policing someone else's civil war. Governor Romney and Senator McCain clearly believe the course we are on in Iraq is working, but I do not.

"And if there ever was a reflection of that it's the fact that Senator McCain required a flack jacket, ten armored Humvees, two Apache attack helicopters, and 100 soldiers with rifles by his side to stroll through a market in Baghdad just a few weeks ago.

"Governor Romney and Senator McCain are still supporting a war that has cost us thousands of lives, made us less safe in the world, and resulted in a resurgence of al-Qaeda. It is time to end this war so that we can redeploy our forces to focus on the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and all those who plan to do us harm."

Says war hero John McCain:

"While Senator Obama's two years in the U.S. Senate certainly entitle him to vote against funding our troops, my service and experience combined with conversations with military leaders on the ground in Iraq lead me to believe that we must give this new strategy a chance to succeed because the consequences of failure would be catastrophic to our nation's security."

And:

"By the way, Senator Obama, it's a 'flak' jacket, not a 'flack' jacket."

Ooooo...Get her.

And now a McCain aide floats in:

"Obama wouldn't know the difference between an RPG and a bong."

RPG? Rocket Propelled Grenade? Or a new kind of weed?

Mitt Romney Owns It by Chris Kelly



Mitt Romney Owns It by Chris Kelly

"Mitt made the final decision last Christmas after discussing it with Ann, their five sons, and their five wives." - Newsmax 5/23/07. Ronald Kessler says more about the Romney family than he probably should.

Mitt Romney is raising more money than all the other Republican candidates. He's also leading in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.

When the dust settles, and the candidates with anger management issues and/or cancer fall away, Mitt Romney will be the nominee, and I think I know why: Because Mitt Romney is the first candidate to take pandering so far beyond cynicism that it's not even cynicism anymore. It's Romantic Irony.

Romantic irony -- the most wistful irony of all -- occurs when a character draws attention to the fact that he's just a character, or a narrator interrupts a story to remind the audience that it's just a story. And Mitt Romney -- alone among presidential hopefuls -- understands that he's a character in a work of art and that his character's job is to say anything, to anyone, at any time, to get elected.

There aren't any contradictions, because life is all made up anyway. He only appears to be a compulsive liar. Actually, he's capturing what Friedrich Schlegel called the "clear consciousness of eternal agility, of an infinitely teeming chaos."

Yes, he seems like the oily trimmer in the mind of God. (Romney, not Schlegel.) But that's the whole point. He knows the mind of God is the only place where we exist. (Or, as Paul McCartney would put it, though we feel as if we're in a play, we are anyway.) Mitt Romney understands that in fiction, there's no such thing as "true" and "false." A character's only truth is internal consistency.

If you think it's inconsistent for him to change sides all the time, you're missing the point. When he had to be pro-choice to get elected, he was pro-choice. When he had to be pro-life, he was pro-life. When he had to support civil rights for gays and lesbians, he did. Now that he doesn't, he doesn't. Guns? Campaign finance reform? Immigration? Tax cuts? Abortion? He's been as dependable as an atomic clock: He's changed his mind on everything.

Mitt Romney is totally consistent as a character. He's a perfect, tidal-in-its-relentlessness, rockin' round the clock, 24/7, nonstop sleaze.

When you employ romantic irony in television, it's called "owning it." This happens when a situation is so sit-commy, the characters themselves have to notice. This occurs mostly in your cool, post-modern-type sit coms. It's a way for the writers to make themselves feel better, and suck up to the audience while serving them the same old crap.

Here's a bad, tired sit-com, the kind Entertainment Weekly hates:

"Oh my God! Not only do I have jury duty the day of the big game, but the foreman is Urkel!"

Here's a great, deconstructed, meta-sitcom, the kind Entertainment Weekly loves:

"Oh my God! Not only do I have jury duty the day of the big game, but the foreman is Urkel! I feel like I'm in a sit-com!"

See how easy it is, once you know how?

Daytime dramas have been employing romantic irony for decades, but only in dialogue, in the form of incredulous sarcasm. The characters have achieved a certain level of self-awareness, but it hasn't made them happy. It just makes their predicaments all the more galling. Of course Windsor is having an affair with Wedge - that what makes it sting. Scenes are an escalating series rhetorical questions, built out of sarcastic clichés.

TIMBER
So, that's your "brilliant plan?" I'm supposed to "stand aside" while you and Wedge "waltz away" to your little "love nest" like some "match made in heaven?"

WINDSOR
"Grow up," Timber. Did you "honestly think" Wedge was your "knight in shining armor" when he "swept you away" and made you his "blushing bride?"

This rule, of course, does not apply to one true jewel of daytime, The Bold and the Beautiful. Which is perfect, except for Phoebe and Rick- why can't she see through him?

On primetime dramas - sophisticated primetime dramas -- the characters use romantic irony by saying "this is the part" to each other.

GARY
(A woman, by the way, all attractive women on sophisticated hours have men's names.)
Hey, Doyle, can I talk to you about this assignment?

DOYLE
(Her editor. Men on sophisticated hours go by their last names, even if they're in high school.)
I don't have time for this, Gary. This is the part where you say you don't want to work with McGillicuddy and this is the part where I say you have to. And this is the part where you say is that an order and this is the part where I say yes.

See how not sh__ty that is?

The quality of a television show is in direct inverse proportion to the number of times a character says: "This is the part..."

I want Mitt Romney to start answering questions: "This is the part where I tell you what you want to hear." It's a long time until next November. It could happen.

Giuliani, Obama win picnic poll


Giuliani, Obama win picnic poll

Associated Press - May 25, 2007 2:23 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new poll says Rudy Giuliani and Barack Obama would be the most welcome among the presidential candidates at a Memorial Day picnic.

People were asked which candidate they'd most like to chat with at a picnic.

In the Quinnipiac poll, the former New York City mayor was picked by 37% of all those polled when pitted against three other Republicans.

Obama was chosen by 33% when grouped with three other Democrats.

John McCain was second among Republicans with 27%, while Hillary Rodham Clinton was second among Democrats at 24%.

Hillary camp embarrassed after 'ignore Iowa' memo is leaked


Hillary camp embarrassed after 'ignore Iowa' memo is leaked

Friday, May 25, 2007

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington

Hillary Clinton's super-organised, impeccably on-message campaign for the White House has suffered a first embarrassment with the leak of an internal memo that urges her to skip the key early caucuses in Iowa - on the ground she has better places to spend money than on a contest she may well lose.

Yesterday, Clinton aides were playing down the memo as the unsolicited musings of a minion, which had never been seen by the lady herself and her most senior advisers. They insisted she would make a major effort in Iowa, whose caucuses - set for 14 January next year - traditionally kick off the primary season.


"It's not the opinion of the campaign," Ms Clinton herself said in response to a question about the memo, and "It's not my opinion."


In fact, the document, entitled An Alternative Nomination Strategy, was written by her deputy campaign manager Mike Henry. At the very least, analysts say, it reflects divisions within the camp of the 2008 Democratic front-runner, as well as the new problems thrown up by the tightly bunched primary calendar.


Iowa's role in the nominating process has usually been pivotal - 13 out of the 14 most recent major party nominees won either there or in New Hampshire, the first primary state (the exception being Bill Clinton in 1992). But its traditionally liberal, anti-war Democratic electorate is not friendly territory for Ms Clinton, who still refuses to disown her 2002 vote authorising the Iraq invasion.


John Edwards, the 2004 vice-presidential nominee who has turned resolutely anti-war, leads in most Iowa polls. He is followed by Barack Obama, who opposed the war from before its outset.


But the question is, is Iowa, or for that matter New Hampshire, really that important any longer? "I think the old system [giving such importance to these two states] is about to collapse, and it will happen this year," Mr Henry wrote, pointing to the compression of the calendar and the emergence of what is in effect a "national primary" on 5 February.


On that date, California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois are among 20 states holding primaries. Florida, the fourth largest state in terms of delegates to the nominating convention in Denver, has gone further still, pushing its primary to 29 January. The bunching has forced every candidate to rethink their strategy. The development "forces us to reassess... where our time and money are best spent," the memo reads.


The front-loading means both party nominations could be, in effect, settled in February, leaving a six-month gap before the conventions.


Fiercely proud of their "first in the nation" status, Iowa and New Hampshire have said they will move their votes forward as far as necessary, to preserve their importance.

Tax cut for light bulbs? Great Idea!


Tax cut for light bulbs?

Two conservative Utah House members want to give every Utah family $30 in a tax cut to purchase long-lasting light bulbs.

Reps. Carl Wimmer, R-Heriman, and Greg Hughes, R-Draper, say the $21 million cost of their energy-saving program will cut more than $200 million in electrical costs, which in turn will mean more money for state tax coffers.

This is "an innovative way to cut taxes and energy usage and improve air quality," the pair said in a press release Friday.

They've nick-named their program "A Bright Idea for Utah." The pair will introduce the $30 tax cut in the 2008 Legislature, which convenes in January.

You couldn't spend the $30 on just anything. The $30 would be a voucher, and you could only use the voucher to buy energy-saving fluorescent gas bulbs, which use less electricity and last longer than the old light bulbs which burn a small fiber to make light.

The new bulbs, the men say, use 75 percent less energy and one of them can last the life of 10 old bulbs.

While the new program may seem costly to some — $21 million — the state is actually running tax surpluses of hundreds of millions of dollars this year. And lawmakers gave a $200 million tax cut in the 2007 Legislature.

In short, the state can afford this new, one-time energy-saving program, the two legislators said. The average family would save $285 a year — $255 in energy savings and $30 in the tax cut. The electrical savings equals 65 million gallons of gasoline, the pair claim, or getting 433,000 cars off of Utah roads for a year in reduced green-house gasses.

Other western states may join in this effort, they said. And if all 50 state legislatures did the same thing, it would save $40 billion in energy, equal to taking every car, bus and truck off of America's roads for 26 days, the legislators said.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

The case for Giuliani


The case for Giuliani

By CHUCK RAASCH
GNS Political Writer

May 24, 2007

WASHINGTON — When Rudy Giuliani was again cornered on his views favoring abortion rights, gay rights and gun control at the May 15 Republican debate, he offered a defense that got scant attention but could end up being the Republicans’ campaign slogan in 2008.

Giuliani threw out the political equivalent of a bullfighter’s red cape to a Republican audience: the possibility of a Hillary Clinton presidency.

“There’s something really big at stake here,” Giuliani said. “We’re looking at a race here in which the leading candidate for president of the United States (Clinton) has said that the unfettered free market is the most disastrous thing in modern America. ... She’s also said, with regard to taxes, that we have to take money from you in order to give it to the common good.”

Republicans, Giuliani pleaded, “should be uniting to make certain that what the liberal media is talking about, our inevitable defeat, doesn’t happen.”

Giuliani’s later smackdown of libertarian Ron Paul, who’d suggested that 9/11 was the result of U.S. involvement in Iraq, grabbed all the headlines. But the electability argument seems to be growing among Republicans. Given his differences with rank-and-file Republicans, it may turn out to be Giuliani’s only argument, but it also explains why his nomination looks more likely than it did six months ago.

Democrats have been there, done that, with John Kerry in 2004, demonstrating electability is no proven path to the White House. But in 2008, the prospect of another Clinton in the White House may be the only thing strong enough to keep dispirited Republicans together, and excited. Giuliani continues to lead national GOP primary polls because his post-9/11 mayoral-national security persona continues to trump his considerable differences with the Republican base on the social issues that coalesce that base. The argument for Giuliani is buttressed by polls showing him leading Clinton in the most important swing states.

Here is Giuliani’s case, by the numbers:

— He remains, by a healthy margin, the most popular candidate on the national presidential stage, even more popular than Sen. Barack Obama. While Clinton’s favorable rating was 50 percent and her unfavorable was 47 percent in a May 4-6 USA TODAY-Gallup poll, Giuliani’s was 61-24. That bested Obama (50-24), Republican rival John McCain (50-30) and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards (49-31). The 9/11 attack may have made Giuliani the closest thing to a Teflon candidate we’ll see in 2008, even more than Obama, whose buzz is based more on promise than performance.

— In late April polls, Quinnipiac University had Giuliani leading Clinton in the swing states of New Jersey (by 9 percentage points), Florida (8), Ohio (5) and Pennsylvania (4). In all three states, ex-Vice President Al Gore did slightly better against Giuliani than Clinton did, though Gore is not running. By contrast, McCain and Clinton were virtually tied in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.

If it is Clinton versus Giuliani in 2008, the ex-New York mayor would have a slight head start in the Electoral College. Giuliani would likely begin as a prohibitive favorite in Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming. A few of those states have not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964. Together, they have 75 electoral votes.

Clinton, meanwhile, might only have slam dunks in the District of Columbia (3 electoral votes), possibly Massachusetts (12), and potentially California (55), although there are signs Republicans could be competitive with either McCain or Giuliani in California for the first time since 1988. In an early April Field Poll, Giuliani trailed Clinton by 13 percentage points — 53-40 — while Clinton led McCain by just 5 in the same poll.

Pundits who expected Giuliani to fold in a New York minute once his views on abortion and gay rights became known were wrong. He’s been battered twice in Republican debates now, provided a confusing answer on abortion in one and still remains the GOP front-runner.

The day after the South Carolina debate, veteran direct-mail operative Richard Viguerie said if Giuliani is the nominee in ’08, the Republican Party would be history.

“Rudy Giuliani is wrong on all the social issues, is wrong on the Second Amendment and is pretty much a blank slate on all other issues of importance to conservatives,” Viguerie said. “If the Republican Party nominates him, it is saying to the American people that it has lost all purpose except the raw political desire to hold power.”

Maybe so. But in ’08, the desire to deny the Clintons political power may be the one thing that can hold Republicans together and bring them back.

Chuck Raasch is political editor for Gannett News Service, 7950 Jones Branch Road, McLean, VA 22107. Send e-mail to craasch@gns.gannett.com. Read his Furthermore blog in the Opinion section of StatesmanJournal.com.

Giuliani Names Fundraising Team


Giuliani Names Fundraising Team
Giuliani Picks Team of Fundraisers, Gives Them Financial Goals for Campaign
Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani speaks in New York, Monday, May 21, 2007. Giuliani was there to receive the endorsement of local New York politicians for his 2008 presidential run. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)The Associated Press WASHINGTON May 24, 2007 (AP)

When it comes to fundraising, Rudy Giuliani wants to hit it out of the park. The former New York mayor's presidential campaign on Thursday named 20 men and women under the age of 45 to be among his lead fundraisers, giving them goals of raising between $25,000 and $1 million.

Pikers who raise the lowest amount will get the title of All-American Pitcher. Those who bundle $50,000 in contributions will be All-American Sluggers; $100,000 will be All-American All Stars; and $200,000 will be All-American MVPs. A fundraiser who amasses $1 million for Giuliani gets to be All-American Team Captain.


The team's national chairman will be Bryan Pickens, owner of a Dallas investment firm and a former fundraiser for President Bush. He is not related to billionaire T. Boone Pickens.

Other team leaders include Donald Trump Jr., the son of the New York real estate magnate; Scott Bungaard, a former Arizona state senator; John Mascialino, a former deputy mayor under Giuliani; and Milam Mabry, a Washington lobbyist in the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani. Others are newer to politics but presumably have an extensive list of personal and business contacts they can tap to help Giuliani build his campaign treasury.

Mitt Romney: Media Must 'Police Itself'


Thursday, May 24, 2007 7:23 a.m. EDT
Mitt Romney: Media Must 'Police Itself'

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized ABC News on Wednesday for its report about CIA plans in Iran, saying it could potentially jeopardize national security and endanger lives.

ABC News rejected Romney's analysis, and said it had given the CIA a chance to make the case that its report put people at risk, but the agency didn't respond.

The network led its top-rated "World News" on Tuesday with Brian Ross' report saying that President Bush had directed the CIA to carry out secret operations against Iran both inside and outside that country. The network said the campaign was "non-lethal," and involved propaganda broadcasts, the planting of newspaper articles and the manipulation of Iran's currency and banking transactions.

Romney, during a campaign appearance in Tulsa, Okla., said he was shocked that ABC News would broadcast the report.

Read the full story...
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/5/24/73258.shtml

Mark Towner

Rudy's Big QuestionIs Giuliani too liberal for the GOP? Probably not.


Rudy's Big QuestionIs Giuliani too liberal for the GOP? Probably not. Here's why.By John DickersonUpdated Thursday, May 24, 2007, at 2:52 PM ET

This is the first in a series of articles exploring the key question facing each presidential candidate.

Listen to this story on NPR's Day to Day.

Even though he lived a few blocks from Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rudy Giuliani grew up a New York Yankees fan. "The reason my father taught me how to box was to defend myself against Dodgers fans," he writes in his book Leadership. As a candidate for the Republican nomination, Giuliani once again finds himself out of place in a tough neighborhood. He's a pro-choice, pro-gay-rights candidate seeking to lead a party dominated by Christian evangelical voters who hate those positions. Giuliani's three marriages, the charges of adultery that led to the very public flameout of his second one, and an open feud with his children also threaten his standing among social-conservative voters. Conservative leaders are always stirred up about something, but Giuliani seems to have gotten them in a particular snit. Radio host James Dobson denounced him so thoroughly you'd think Rudy was running on a platform of free porn.

Read the full story....

http://www.slate.com/id/2166949/

Mark Towner

Mitt Romney Speaks to Local Republican Party


Published Thursday, May 24, 2007
Mitt Romney Speaks to Local Republican Party
By
LAKELAND -- The immigration bill now before Congress must be rewritten so that it does not reward the 12 million illegal immigrants in this country, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told a crowd of 305 at the Polk County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner in Lakeland this evening.
Although he refused to use the word “amnesty,” as other opponents of the current immigration bill have, Romney said he doesn’t mind if illegal immigrants apply for legal work visas, but not before those who have obeyed the law by staying in their own country to apply have done so first.The specifics of whether they should go back to their countries of origin to apply for a visa or pay a fine can be worked out after first securing the borders and developing a system for determining the legality of an immigrant employee, he said.It was the second year in a row that the local Republican Party has hosted a major national GOP figure at its annual dinner.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, who like Romney is running for the Republican nomination for president, was the keynote speaker last year.Romney also said that the early presidential primary date for Florida makes the state an important, multiple stop for all candidates. Florida moved its primary in 2008 from March to January.For the complete story of Romney’s speech and press conference, see Friday’s edition of The Ledger.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Political Campaigns Future Technology




Political Campaigns Future Technology
As a former CEO with nearly 25 years IT experience I have been trying to push for the use of technology to improve communication within Political Campaigns and Political Parties.
In 2002 I introduced the INTRANET technology of web based campaign technologies. These technologies were then used very heavily in 2004 by several campaigns I was associated. From 2004 to 2006 I have been involved on development of additional tools to assist political campaigns and parties in their efforts to organize and distribute action plan items to those people who have offered help to a campaign.
This is no easy task as anyone who has tried to organize volunteers knows well.
The following article from Utah Policy Daily again talks about technology that I and many other IPO (Internet Political Operatives) are using.

Enjoy Spyglass readers, and well done LaVarr in bringing this technology to light.

Captain Mark


From Today’s Utah Policy Daily:
What is Distributed Campaigning?“Distributed campaigning” is an adaptation of the term “distributed computing,” which is defined as “the use of multiple computers networked throughout a wide geographical area to solve a single problem.” Distributed Computing was popularized by the SETI@Home Project in which at-home users could set up their computers to assist the SETI project when they were not otherwise in use. The home computers would automatically download sets of data to work on, process them and send the result back to the main SETI servers.In Distributed Campaigning, political campaigns likewise maximize their power and impact through Internet-based tools that allow supporters to easily assist the campaign from their homes. For example, via the web, volunteers could download lists of voters, call them, and send the results back to the campaigns’ website. (Read the entire tip by Benjamin Katz at Complete Campaigns.


Free Capitalist Headlines: C Rick Koerber




Protests Mount Over Venezuela TV
From BBC
Staff and supporters of a Venezuelan TV station that is due to be taken off air have unveiled a kilometre-long banner in Caracas in support of press freedom.


Senate Puts Off Action on Immigration
From AP
Senate leaders agreed Monday that they would wait until June to take final action on a bipartisan plan to give millions of unlawful immigrants legal status.
Related: Martinez: Immigration Bill Could Save GOP Principle 2


Aspiring Abortion Doctors Drawn to Embattled Field
From LA Times
Medical students cite defiance and conscience as a reason to choose the career. 'It doesn't matter what you believe if you don't back it up with action,' one says. Principle 5


Family not Told Their Home Was Site of Murder
From Fox News
A family in Central Florida is outraged that they were kept in the dark about their new house's dark secret: A triple murder and suicide happened within the four walls they'd just begun to call home. Principle 3


Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit in Mistaken Search
From Baltimore Sun
Mistakes sometimes happen, the Supreme Court said yesterday, and threw out a lawsuit brought by a white couple in Southern California who were rousted from bed and held naked at gunpoint by deputies looking for several black suspects. Principle 4


Religious Leaders Urge Action on Warming
From Yahoo! News
Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are urging President George W. Bush and Congress to take action against global warming, declaring that the changing climate is a "moral and spiritual issue."
Related: Market for Carbon Offsets Raises Questions Principle 3


Why the Left Hated Jerry Falwell So Much
From American Thinker
Jerry Falwell's funeral is today, and now that he is being laid to rest, it is appropriate to dissect the vicious treatment he has received at the hands of his enemies since his unexpected demise.
Related: Evangelicals at a Crossroads As Falwell's Generation Fades Principle 4


Kid's Mom Sues Baseball Coach
From New York Post
A Staten Island mom is blaming her son's injury during a Little League game on a bum education in base-running. Principle 4


The End of Free Trade
From The Weekly Standard
So it does indeed end with a whimper rather than a bang. Free trade, I mean. Thanks to a president too weak politically to withstand the protectionist surge of a Democratic Congress, the era of ever-freer trade has come to an end. Principle 8

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Is Utah GOP Ready to Rumble? Flordia Again wants the Spotlight


Several months ago I posted a suggestion that Utah move up its Presidential Primary into January, because if they wait until Super Duper Tuesday in February, Utah will have no impact on the National Election. Because the total delegate's elected on Super Duper Tuesday will be a majority, it's very likely that the respective candidates for both parties will be chosen on this day.


So the real question is why even have a National convention? Why spend the money on a State wide election that will likely have a pre-determined outcome by the time we actually get to vote?


The national parties have said to their respective state parties we will take delegates away from you if you hold your election any sooner than Feb 5th. For Utah, who cares? The National Parties have done nothing for Utah for more than two decades, except to reap political donations for elsewhere in the country or other non Utah candidates and nearly bankrupt our State parties.Its crunch time and we need to follow Florida's example and thumb our noses at the National Parties, and dare them to follow through with their threats.




Florida Double-Dares National Parties as Jan. 29 Primary Date is Enacted
By Rachel Kapochunas Mon May 21, 4:15 PM ET


Florida Republican Gov. Charlie Crist signed a sweeping bill Monday altering the state’s electoral procedures — including a controversial provision to move the state’s 2008 presidential primary all the way up to Jan. 29 in defiance of scheduling rules set by both major parties’ national committees.


“Florida’s diverse population will be more influential in the presidential primary process,” read a statement Monday from the governor’s office.
Crist signed House Bill 537 on Monday morning at the Palm Beach County Supervisors of Elections office in West Palm Beach. The bill cleared the Republican-controlled state legislature earlier this month.


The action by Florida officialdom puts a new and contentious wrinkle into the “front-loading” frenzy, the surge of states moving their presidential contests up to dates much earlier than in the past in hopes of having greater influence over the selection of the parties’ nominees.
Both the Democratic National Committee' and (RNC) have set Feb. 5 as the earliest date for primaries and caucuses, with exceptions made only for the traditional “first in the nation” events — the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary — and a handful of other state contests. Though nearly two-dozen states have rushed to fill up the primary calendar on Feb. 5, none before Florida had scheduled an unauthorized contest prior to that date.


Florida has done so in the face of penalties threatened by the RNC and the DNC, which include confiscating some of the state’s delegates to the parties’ national conventions in late summer 2008. In addition, Democratic Party rules stipulate that any candidate who campaigns in a state that has violated Democratic scheduling rules will forfeit delegates the state retains — in effect, shutting out the state altogether.


But supporters of Florida’s move say penalties will not deter candidates from campaigning in the state, which has political influence commensurate with its status as the fourth most-populous state. And some in the large field of contenders already have signaled that those advocates are indeed correct.


The campaign for Republican Rudolph Giuliani, a former mayor of New York City and the current leader in early presidential preference polls of Republican voters, released an appeal Monday to Florida residents, reiterating his desire to win support in the state.
“Rudy Giuliani is the candidate who will win in Florida,” campaign manager Michael DuHaime said in a statement. “We have a strong and growing team on the ground, and the mayor’s optimistic vision for the country is resonating across the state.”


Despite the strong verbal pushback from national party officials, there are efforts under way to try to find a compromise in the dispute. DNC officials say they have been working with Florida Democrats in hopes of finding an alternative, such as making the primary a non-binding presidential preference poll and later holding party-run caucuses at which the actual distribution of convention delegates would be determined.
Steven A. Geller, the Democratic leader in the Florida Senate, sent a letter to DNC Chairman
Howard Dean' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Howard Dean on Thursday urging him to reconsider the threat of penalties. Geller argued that Democrats made efforts to amend the legislation but were stymied by the Republican-controlled legislature. “By threatening to punish Florida Democrats because of actions taken by Florida Republicans, it is the party as a whole which will bear the brunt of your retaliation,” Geller wrote.


The situation might be even a little more awkward on the Republican side, though. Florida Sen. Mel Martinez (news, bio, voting record) was recently installed as the RNC’s general chairman at the request of
President Bush' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> President Bush, and some have questioned whether his homestate loyalties could leave him conflicted over how to enforce penalties for the state’s violation of the party’s scheduling rules.


But Martinez, speaking for the national committee, has thus far remained firm. “The rules are inflexible and it doesn’t matter who is running the RNC,” Martinez said Friday, according to the Associated Press. “Those rules will be enforced because they are part of the rules that were crafted at the last convention and they can’t be changed.”


Ballot Quandary Arrives at Paper Trail. While the primary date change embodied in the legislation signed Monday has stirred a dispute, another major provision is aimed at avoiding the kind of vote-counting chaos that has plagued elections held in the state over recent years.
The bill will require all voting to be conducted using optical scan ballots, paper records that can be used in recounting votes in disputed elections — a requirement that will essentially require localities to ditch the touch-screen computerized voting machines that many had adopted to replace outmoded punch-card ballots.


Punch-card voting was at the center of one of the most epic vote-counting controversies in the nation’s history, which occurred in Florida during the 2000 presidential election. George W. Bush was ultimately declared the winner by a razor-thin margin, which in turn clinched his victory for the White House, though not before local election officials hand-examined many thousands of ballots to determine whether there were “hanging chads” — partially detached punchouts that might indicate an intent to cast a vote for a candidate.


Yet the touch-screen machines that were widely implemented afterwards caused a furor of their own in the 2006 House race in Florida’s 13th Congressional District.
Congress is currently investigating Democratic nominee Christine Jennings’ claim that electronic voting machine errors in Sarasota County caused her narrow defeat by Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan (news, bio, voting record) in the 13th District last November. More than 18,000 undervotes — ballots displaying no choice for the congressional race but choices for other races on the ticket — were recorded in Sarasota County, which Jennings carried.


At a press conference Monday in Sarasota, Jennings commended Crist for ending paperless voting and thanked supporters for what she believes was the nationalization of her effort to overturn the 13th District result.


“Together, we have not only helped bring about real change in Florida, we have also helped this case become central to the national debate over election reform,” Jennings said.
Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler (news, bio, voting record) of Florida’s 19th District, who has been working with Crist to eliminate paperless voting in his home state, was in attendance at the signing ceremony Monday. The legislation appropriates $27.8 million to purchase the optical scan equipment.


Among its other provisions, the bill ends the state’s current requirement that public officials resign their current positions in order to run for federal office and spells out that complaints filed with the Florida Elections Commission must be based on personal experience.




Monday, May 21, 2007

Senator Fred Thompson responds to Michael Moore....

Senator Fred Thompson responds to Michael Moore....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoAB6fz8ENc&mode=related&search=

NY state Republican Party endorses native son Rudy Giuliani for president


NY state Republican Party endorses native son Rudy Giuliani for president

The Associated Press
Published: May 21, 2007


NEW YORK: With frequent references to the leadership Rudy Giuliani showed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the state Republican Party on Monday endorsed its native son for president.


"Only Rudy Giuliani has stood at the abyss of terror and destruction and shown a city, state, nation and, yes, the world the true meaning of leadership," state Republican chairman Joseph Mondello said at the event at a midtown Manhattan hotel.
He said that on Sept. 11, 2001, "this city's mayor became America's mayor, and Rudy Giuliani became a man destined for greatness."


Giuliani said he was pleased with the support.
"I can't tell you how much this means to me both personally and of course for our campaign to have the support of my home state," he said.

He said fighting terrorism and dealing with the economy would be the top two priorities for an incoming administration, and he said he had learned from the events of Sept. 11 and other attacks.


"The lessons of the 20th century, to me, are that you never ever back down in the face of bullies, dictators, tyrants and terrorists," he said.


He also told the supportive crowd that the Republican Party needed to compete even in traditional liberal strongholds such as New York.


"My view of this race for president is that the Republican Party should not go into this election, as we have in the past, having to write off New York, Connecticut, New Jersey," he said. "We've got to make this a 50-state election."


Giuliani was scheduled to be in Albany on Tuesday to be endorsed by state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, state Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco and other Republican state lawmakers.


National polls have shown Giuliani in front-runner position, as is New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democrats. Clinton was endorsed by the state's Democrats last week.

Young: Mitt's chances improve with 'immigration'


Young: Mitt's chances improve with 'immigration'

By Peter B. Young/Local columnist
GHS

Far be it from me to downplay or downgrade in any way Mitt Romney's chances in next year's quadrennial Presidential Derby. That said, most Massachusetts Democrats will tell you that regardless of their own personal views on the man, our former Republican governor is always a formidable candidate. And he is never more formidable than when he finds a critical issue that he is uniquely equipped to exploit.

He may have found that issue in the current free-for-all over so-called "comprehensive immigration reform."

But before we get to that, tick off these obvious Romney assets: He is (1) rich, (2) free of scandal, (3) articulate, (4) disciplined, (5) leader of a splendid family, (6) movie star handsome, and the list goes on.

What's not to like?

Well, perhaps we can leave that question for another column on another day.
But today's column will deal with candidate Romney's continuing, dogged fight to win the hearts and minds of Republican conservatives across the country, especially in such early primary states as Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

He is just now beginning to show some modest signs of success in this quixotic endeavor, and he may even be positioned for more success on the gut issue of our time, immigration reform.
While pursuing these influential conservatives, who dominate most Republican primary elections, Romney has not hesitated to go with the flow and adjust his previous positions notably on such social issues as abortion. All politicians, Democrats as well as Republican, do this sort of thing all the time. But it can be argued that Romney takes this standard political practice into a new dimension as he continues his transition from blue state Massachusetts into the red states of conservative-dominated Republican primaries.

In most national polls of Republican voters, our former governor is still mired in single digits - significantly behind such political mischief-makers as Rudy Giuliani of New York, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, and also the undeclared, but prospectively potent candidacies of Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson.

Yet, when the pollsters narrow their samples to a single state like Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, Mitt Romney does much better, and is still very much within striking distance of leaders like Giuliani and the increasingly irascible McCain, both of whom have serious problems with the GOP base of conservatives.

Indeed, Giuliani and McCain may have problems even more serious than Romney's with that GOP base. In fact, the latest state-wide poll out of Iowa shows Romney now running comfortably ahead of the aforementioned Giuliani and McCain.

But until now, what Romney has been missing is a critical issue or message that he can stake out and claim for his own. Rudy Giuliani can recall his role as America's mayor in the immediate wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. John McCain can continue as perhaps the one and only cheerleader for the misbegotten war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan. That has left Mr. Romney bringing up the rear with lame jokes about the agonies of dealing with liberal Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature.

However, with details finally emerging on the widely criticized "deal" for immigration reform, Romney is at last positioned to further improve his standing in those critical polls. That is because the horrendous, bipartisan mess we have made with immigration reform and regulation during the last 20 years has left this beleaguered country caught between a rock and a hard place. Our schools, hospitals, prisons and other such facilities are all staggering under a continuing tidal wave of illegal immigrants.

This is a situation that just may cry out for the kind of crisp, diligent, systematic, corporate-style leadership that has always been part of Romney's tool kit.

Democrats, here and elsewhere, had better believe that Mitt Romney now sees his opening and, in the words of the late Coach Vince Lombardi, will attempt an historic "run to daylight."
Peter Young's column appears every other Tuesday.

Sharpton tours Mormon Utah headquarters after Romney comment





Sharpton tours Mormon Utah headquarters after Romney comment

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Rev. Al Sharpton toured Mormon facilities Monday and dined privately with a church elder after drawing criticism two weeks ago for remarks about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
"He's simply here to learn more about us," church spokesman Mike Otterson said of Sharpton's visit. "We want him to know what the church does, what its work is."
Sharpton made the trip after generating criticism during a debate with an atheist author when he said: "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation."
Sharpton, a Pentecostal minister who urged the firing of Don Imus after the radio host's racially insensitive remarks, said his words were taken out of context. But he immediately called elders of the 12.5 million-member church to apologize.
Monday, on a live broadcast of his radio show from a church-owned broadcast center in Salt Lake City, Sharpton said he respects Mormons as Christians and believers. He called any perceived friction between himself and the church a "fabricated controversy."

"Whatever differences I have with their denomination or religion had nothing to do with my respect of their faith," Sharpton said.
He has not apologized to Romney but called for a "dialogue of reconciliation." Romney has said Sharpton's comment could be construed as bigoted. Officially, the church will not comment on Romney's campaign and maintains a position of political neutrality.
On the air, Sharpton said he and Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the church's governing board of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, met over dinner Sunday night and "talked very little, if at all" about the comments. Instead, Sharpton said, they discussed shared concerns and places where their faiths can work together.

"This is not politics," Sharpton said. "This is about what you fundamentally, firmly believe. I did not want to leave it as 'we got past an issue."'

The dinner was followed by a tour Monday morning of church facilities, including a humanitarian aid center from which the church distributes clothes, food and medical supplies around the world.

Salt Lake City is the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with a temple and other properties covering several downtown blocks.